Monday, May 1

30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!

1 Corinthians 15:30–31

Utmost Confidence

Following Paul's masterful exposition of the Resurrection of the Dead, he highlights his lifestyle as a forceful statement of his conviction of Jesus's Resurrection. Paul's life is far cry from the comforts of American Christianity. Paul's life is marked by persecution and suffering on behalf of the Gospel he preaches. His rhetorical question in verse 30, "Why are we in danger every hour?" is emphatic, but considering Paul's epistles and the book of Acts (especially chapter 19), Paul's life was constantly being pushed to the breaking point. As he declared the news that the eternal son of God, Jesus Christ, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death, and was physically raised from the dead, Paul's life was truly in danger day by day.Paul is highlighting this suffering and persecution in his own life to illuminate his deep seeded conviction about the Resurrection of Jesus. To Paul, the imprisonments, the beatings, the arrests, and the death threats were all worth it because of the power and truth of the gospel message. He is telling the Corinthians that he would not suffer so much for something that is a fallacy. Paul's life was an apologetic to his conviction and validity of the Gospel!Today, we must ask ourselves, "Does our life declare the severity and power of the Gospel?" Lord willing, we will not face as severe a persecution as Paul did, but our lifestyles should (and must!) declare the resurrection of Christ! Our neighbors, friends, and families should look at our lives and see that the Gospel is central to us and that we walk through all things with God and for God.